Steel, Guns, and the Industrial Party in Another World

Chapter 24: The Battle for the Royal Capital's Recovery 2

Chapter 24: The Battle for the Royal Capital's Recovery 2

TL: Etude

On either side of the north gate of Crystal Shine Fortress, siege towers were deployed with ladders propped against the city walls. The royal soldiers, struggling to climb up, defended themselves with shields from the arrows, boiling oil, and even scalding fecal concoctions hurled by the rebels.

Some siege towers, drenched in boiling oil, were ignited by the rebels' fire arrows. The flames quickly engulfed the towers, forcing soldiers ablaze to jump from the upper levels. Many unfortunate ones didn't make it out, and the smell of charred flesh permeated the area.

Leading the royal army were soldiers clad in thick armor, wielding swords and shields. They fiercely blocked the slashes and chops of the rebels, leaping from the siege towers onto the city walls. The soldiers behind them rapidly followed, continually widening the breach.

The battle cries resounded everywhere on the walls.

By noon, both attackers and defenders were thoroughly exhausted. Duke Walker ordered a temporary halt to the offensive, and the rebels took the opportunity to regroup and rest.

...

In a civilian house near the north city gate, several people sat in the living room, their faces clouded with worry.

"How many did we lose this morning?" Hals, the former commander of the city guard and now leader of the rebels, asked wearily.

"About four hundred of our brothers..." a subordinate replied cautiously.

Hals, drained, rubbed his forehead. He didn't bother to inquire about the losses among the forcibly conscripted militia.

At this moment, Hals was consumed by regret, anger, fear, and various emotions. Trapped in a besieged city, the expected reinforcements were nowhere in sight, while the loyalist army, he knew, was continuously gathering nearby.

He cursed bitterly, "Damn that Jars! May he rot in hell!"

He had always portrayed himself as a loyal dog of the royal family, secretly colluding with Jars all the while. Due to his caution, he never slipped up and maintained his position as the commander of the city guard.

When the princess led her army on an expedition to the highlands, Jars couldn't contain his ambition and seized the opportunity to rebel, sending word to Hals to rise in support before the princess's army returned.

Initially, Hals refused. Jars's army was still far away; starting a rebellion in the capital was suicidal.

However, the messenger later claimed that Duke Dodge in the south had already sided with Jars, clearing the biggest obstacle to the army's northern advance. The smaller lords were of no concern, and they even promised Hals a countdom once they succeeded.

Blinded by the prospect of great achievements, Hals thought: if he waited for Jars's army to reach the capital's gates before responding, he would be seen as insignificant. If he took control of Crystal Shine Fortress and captured the king himself, his merit would overshadow anyone in Jars's camp.

So he rebelled. Apart from failing to capture the king, everything went smoothly. He had purged the city guard's command system, executing or imprisoning non-compliant officers, bringing the entire force under his control.

After imprisoning the chancellor and other ministers, and eliminating a few troublemakers, the nobles in the capital neither openly opposed nor supported him. He thought, let Jars deal with these fence-sitters when he arrives.
Many nobles fled during the chaos of the uprising, but Hals didn't care. He thought, let them add to Princess's troubles, as long as they left their wealth behind.